


find the happiness (you pretend to have)

by LiveLaughLovex



Series: dare to dance [2]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Post-Episode: s10e01 Ua 'eha Ka 'ili I Ka Maka O Ka Ihe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-06
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-11-25 18:50:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20916881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiveLaughLovex/pseuds/LiveLaughLovex
Summary: Kono's evening consists of learning her friend's leaving law enforcement and then being visited by her newly involved ex-husband, so, you know. It's a pretty interesting day, all in all.





	find the happiness (you pretend to have)

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you find the happiness you've been pretending to have. - Unknown

It was nothing short of a miracle that Kono somehow managed to escape work in time to make it to the party celebrating Jerry’s return. There’d been a gang shooting in Waimanalo the previous night. They’d managed to catch the person responsible in time to keep utter chaos from breaking out on the streets, but there was still a mess to be cleaned up. It wasn’t a mess that couldn’t wait another day, though. No way was she going to miss something so important.

“Kono!” Danny greeted jovially, lifting a hand in greeting as she made her way over to their table. “You okay? You look exhausted.”

Kono huffed a laugh as she claimed the seat next to Steve. “Wow, Williams, you really know how to charm a girl, don’t you?”

“I didn’t mean it negatively,” Danny backtracked quickly. “I’m just concerned, that’s all.”

“Well, don’t be. It’s nothing. Work’s just been a little crazy these past few days, that’s all.” She turned to Steve. “Speaking of which – did I hear your suspect stole a monster truck?”

“He did indeed,” Steve confirmed. “Got away, too, because…”

“It’s a monster truck,” Danny and Kono said simultaneously.

“Exactly,” Steve nodded. “Don’t worry, though. We handled it.”

“You handled it?” Kono repeated dubiously. “You threatened a man with enough money to put you in the ground in the middle of a busy restaurant. You know that’ll come back to bite you, right?”

“Yeah, but when has that ever stopped me?”

“Fair point. So,” she tilted her head in the direction of the truck, “who’s the new girl? Danny tells me she might be your long-lost sister.”

“She is not my long-lost sister,” Steve responded exasperatedly. “She takes risks. She’s a risk-taker. Not everyone who’s like that is related to me.”

“That’s true,” Danny allowed. “Kono’s not related to you.”

Kono rolled her eyes but otherwise ignored their friend. “Seriously, though, she seems cool.”

“Don’t worry, Kalakaua,” Danny comforted teasingly. “We’re not trying to replace you.”

“Of course not,” Steve agreed. “You’re irreplaceable.”

“Ah, see, _there’s_ the charm,” Kono laughed. “I knew you two had it in you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Steve sighed, shaking his head with a wry grin. “Heard you had some issues of your own. How’d things end up with your case?”

“I got a full confession, thank you. Hi,” she greeted the other woman when she returned to the table, holding a hand out to shake hers. “Kono Kalakaua, nice to meet you.”

“Quinn Liu,” the other woman returned, shaking her hand firmly and then releasing it a moment later. “You’re the, uh, the sergeant who just came back home, right?”

“I am, yes,” Kono confirmed, smiling smugly at the men around her. “And now I know they like me enough to talk about me with other people. They can’t deny it anymore.”

“We never denied it in the first place,” Danny protested. “Have you ever heard Steve talk about you when you’re not around? Well, I guess you haven’t, because that’d be impossible, but he brags.”

“Glad to hear it.” Kono fell comfortably silent for several moments, shaking her head amusedly as Steve and Danny volleyed back and forth about the date the former had been on prior to being called in.

“Looks like Mom and Dad are fighting again,” Tani interrupted, drawing everyone’s attention to the approaching members of their group.

Jerry thanked them for coming out, looking about as awkward as she’d ever seen him, and then dropped a bombshell nobody could have expected. She was still reeling from the information when she headed for the parking lot an hour and a half later.

“Hey,” Steve greeted conversationally, falling into step beside her.

She glanced over at him, forcing a smile. “Hey.”

“You okay?” he questioned concernedly. “You got pretty quiet after Jerry’s announcement. I mean, I know it shocked us all, but…”

“Yeah,” she promised. “It’s just a lot, that’s all.”

“It is,” Steve agreed. “But I think everyone expected it, at least a little. What he went through – that’s a lot for someone to go through. Jerry’s not like us, you know? He’s still relatively sane. Maybe not sane,” he allowed when she shot him an incredulous look, “but still normal enough that getting shot makes him want to do things differently.”

“I can’t even remember the last time getting shot shook me so badly,” she admitted with a humorless scoff. “That’s sad, isn’t it?”

“We’re cops. It’s normal,” Steve replied, opening her car door for her and ignoring the way she rolled her eyes in response to the chivalrous action. “Hey, any chance you want to leave your cushy office with the HPD to come work in the basement? Place just opened up for you.”

“I’d love to, but I can’t,” Kono returned with a wry smile. “I believe we went to the moon.”

“Do you also think the Titanic crashing was just an accident?” Steve questioned.

“I do,” Kono sighed regretfully. “But I promise, when I’m not working, I’ll bother you so much you’ll feel like I’m back on the team,” she assured him.

“I’m holding you to that.” Steve closed the door behind her once she was safely inside. “See you later.”

“Yeah,” Kono sighed amusedly, glancing up at him through the open window. “Don’t go collecting any more hotheads, okay? I don’t think Danny’s blood pressure will be able to take it.”

He shook his head exasperatedly. “Yeah, I’ll do my best.”

-o-

It was nearly eight o’clock when Kono’s focus was pulled away from her _Law & Order_ marathon by the sound of someone knocking on the front door of her rental house. She heaved a great sigh, then placed aside the large bowl of fresh popcorn she’d made several minutes earlier and rose from the sofa.

“Adam,” she greeted upon pulling open the door, eyeing her ex-husband curiously. “Hey. I… what’s up? Is everything all right?”

“Yeah,” he assured her. “It’s fine. I just, uh…”

“Right,” she murmured, stepping aside so he could walk into her home. “Can I get you anything?” she asked, closing the door behind her. “Water, or… I think I have some beer somewhere. Fridge is pretty sparse at the moment.”

“No, don’t worry,” Adam waved away her concern. “I just wanted to check in on you. You’ve seemed a little… off since you got back. I know I’m not the best judge of that, because I’m your ex-husband, but…”

“I’m just getting back into the swing of things. I’m fine,” she promised. “And we’re friends,” she added pointedly.

“I know we are.” Adam glanced away. “Are you happy?”

“What?” Kono questioned confusedly.

“You weren’t happy. When we were on the mainland,” he explained. “That work made you completely miserable. Are you happy, now that you’re back here?”

“I’m getting there,” she answered honestly. “I will be, again. I hope I will, at least.” She smiled self-deprecatingly. “Maybe I need to be a little better at prioritizing the things that keep me happy. I’ve always sucked at it.”

“I hope you do,” he returned. “You’re a great person, Kono Kalakaua. I’m not the first person who’s realized that, and I won’t be the last.”

“Sometimes, people say things in a way that actually makes me believe them.” Kono tilted her head to the side. “Are you happy?” she wondered. “With Zoey?”

“I am,” he replied.

“Good. I’m glad.”

“Yeah.” He cleared his throat, nodding to the door. “I’ll leave you to your lawyers. I just…. after everything with Jerry, I wanted to clear the air.”

“I’m glad you did.” She followed him to the door, smiling as he pulled it open. “Drive safe.”

“I will,” he promised, offering a final wave before heading out onto the porch and down the steps to the driveway.

Kono exhaled quietly as she closed the door behind him, leaning her forehead against the oak surface. It really had been one hell of a night. But maybe, just maybe, Adam was right. Maybe they needed closure to be truly happy without each other. She hoped that was what was holding her back, at least, because if it wasn’t that, then she had no idea what it was, and that was a can of worms she had no desire to open anytime soon.

**Author's Note:**

> I can already tell I'm going to love writing Kono's interactions with Quinn in this series. And I hope the scene with Adam was not extremely awkward; I always have a hard time writing their interactions. I feel like having a conversation so serious with your ex would be a bit awkward, also, so that leaked in, too.


End file.
